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Parker, Cespedes return following scratches

Parker, Cespedes return following scratches

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By Jeff Kirshman
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MLB.com |

OAKLAND -- Jarrod Parker and Yoenis Cespedes -- both late scratches in Sunday's series finale against the Rangers -- returned to the A's lineup for the first game of a three-game set against the Angels on Monday.

Parker missed his start due to illness and was replaced by Tommy Milone, but appears to be healthy enough to pitch Monday, when he looked to extend his franchise-best unbeaten start streak to 20 games. The rest of the A's starting rotation will remain the same and simply receive an extra day of rest.

"We had a pretty good idea the way Jarrod felt after the game yesterday that he was going to start today," A's manager Bob Melvin said before Monday's game. "It's kind of a blessing in disguise. … Everybody will benefit by getting pushed back a day."

Right shoulder soreness was the culprit of Cespedes' absence. He received an MRI in Oakland on Monday, but the results weren't made available by the start of Monday's game. The ailment affects Cespedes' throwing more than swinging, Melvin said, and as a result he hit fourth in the lineup as the designated hitter.

Cespedes injured the shoulder during the team's last homestand diving in left field, but his offensive output doesn't appear to have been hindered. He went 6-for-19 with nine RBIs on the A's six-game road trip and is batting .373 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in his last 13 games in September, eight of which have resulted in multihit performances.

"Whether it's a bruise or whatever is going on in there, it'll be a day-to-day proposition each and every day how he feels," Melvin said.

Jeff Kirshman is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.